World’s Fair Mystery: Solved!
The last time two large bronze “bathtubs” were on display at the Farmington Public Library, in 2019, no certain proof that they were exhibited at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 had been uncovered – and they were still being referred to as “bathtubs.”
They are back at the library now, for three months, and we know so much more about them than we did in 2019. Over the last several months, Mineral Area College history department coordinator and American history teacher Rodney Wilson has been researching these 120-pound masterpieces, the Berlin metal sculptor who created them, Gustav Lind, and the World’s Fair generally.
Wilson has uncovered written and photographic proof to forever establish that these “bathtubs” are actually jardinieres – planters – and that they indeed were exhibited at the World’s Fair in the German Court of Honor at the Palace of Varied Industries. He has also closely examined the life of the artist, Gustav Lind.
Another important question Wilson sought to answer: How did these two bronze planters end up painted white, neglected beneath yard debris, and left behind on a farmhouse lawn south of Farmington for new homeowners to discover when they purchased the home from the estate of a widow in 1973?
Those homeowners, Denzel and Joann Jennings, had the planters restored in 1981 and cared for them during their lifetimes. One planter was sold to Bruce and Melissa Workman, who owned it for nine years. Both planters are now owned by Gene and Annette Fritsche of Park Hills.
Wilson will give a free public talk about the jardinieres, the artist, and the Farmington connection at the Farmington Public Library on Tuesday, March 3, at 6:00pm, where the planters will be exhibited until mid-April.
For more information on the event, please contact the library at 573-756-5779.
Also check out other Arts events in Farmington.
